The Extra Mile
by Haku Ishatar
Summary: Ever since HE went away, Yugi had no reason to live. That is, until a black haired stranger brought back the meaning he had in his life. (YxY S-ai) [one shot Songfic!]


Haku: Here I am again, with another one-shot, seeing as inspiration for my other fics won't come, and I need to kill my time writing something.  
  
Y. Haku: That and you don't watch Yu-Gi-Oh! That much anymore... Bloody FMA and Inuyasha are starting to take over your life.  
  
Haku: How can you say that? I still love Yu-Gi-Oh... but Edo and Roy are hot... and so is Inuyasha... come to think of it... -starts muttering to herself about ungrateful Yamis...-  
  
Y. Haku: Just get on with it.  
  
Haku: -sighs-  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or the song The Extra Mile by Laura Pausini.

* * *

_Countless eyes are watching   
In this our finest hour_  
  
He looked out over the stands of cheering fans, holding back tears that threatened to spill from his eyes. He desperately tried to draw his mind away from them, to the palm sized, brightly coloured cards in his hands, each depicting a different image. There were a few dirty brown ones, monster cards, to be played face-up in attack, or face-down in defence, and used in battle. He choked back tears as his eyes slid over a purple clad, humanoid monster, covered from head to foot in strong armour, and felt his throat tighten slightly as it seemingly glared up at him. Behind it, there was an emerald green card, with the image of a strange orange monster, and slightly faded images of it on either side.  
  
A small wail escaped the boy's constricted throat as he tried to concentrate on the game, but it was no use. Feelings of guilt kept racking his small frame, as card after card, some purple, some a light fuchsia, and still other Emerald and brown seemed to blame him as he drew them.  
  
Unable to bear the scolding of his cards, his hand snaked over his deck in a show of surrender. A dry sob racked from his throat.  
  
_It's time to realise the dream,   
Of who we really are._  
  
His opponent was taken aback as he looked over the cards towards the opposition that had given up without a fight. His opponent seemed in distress, as small, dry cries escaped his throat over and over, again and again. His eyes were shadowed, and the other watched as he slowly turned, and left the platform, the spotlight still remaining on his hunched back, and small frame. Sobs still plagued the boy, even as he left the stadium, his opponent looking at the retreating back a mixture of confusion and bewilderment on his face.  
  
Hushed whispers raced through the audience, as the boy retreated from the stand. "Was that Yugi Mouto?" The voices asked of one another, "The real Yugi Mouto? What happened?"  
  
_I'm gonna freeze this space in time,   
And rise to meet the call._  
  
No, he wasn't the real Yugi Mouto. The real Yugi Mouto had died 3 months prior to the incident, in a ceremonial duel that took the life of the darker half of his soul.  
  
Since then, a distraught and depressed air had settled about the boy, one that none of his friends could lift, and he had taken upon an almost shell- like quality which they hadn't seen in him since the days before... _he_ came.  
  
"Yugi!" A brunette called, running to catch up with the boy. She needn't have bothered with the extra speed; the boy was walking at a snail's pace. He offered no recognition, even when she walked at his pace, right next to him. "Yugi. Why did you..."  
  
The boy had finally faced her, tears streaming unchecked from his eyes. She took a step back at the lack of life in those features. Life, which the face needed to keep its angelic innocence. Without it, deprived of its spark, the boy resembled just a listless zombie.  
  
_Seize the moment   
Make it mine._  
  
She stopped in shock, and the boy just kept walking, holding his deck limply in one hand, other shoved dejectedly in his pocket, the tears still racing down his face.  
  
"Hey! Yugi! Wait up..." The boy seemed not to hear, trapped in his own world, and the girl just stared, even as his tri coloured head bobbed around the corner. Even his hair seemed to have wilted, she noted, hanging much limper around his head than usual. The evening air settled about her, its chill seeming to reflect the mood that the boy carried, as she was joined by two amber eyed teens, and both with looks of forlorn on their face.  
  
"What are we gonna do?" The first asked, a male, a light Brooklyn drawl accenting his speech, as he looked at the way the boy came, with the same upset air that the blue eyed brunette held. "It jus aint right for Yuge to be dis way."  
  
The original speaker, the one who had spoken to the boy sighed. "There's nothing we can do." Her eyes held within them a lost light. "Yugi has to figure this out on his own."  
  
"You do know when it started don't you?" That was the smaller, amber eyed female. The little group of three gave a dejected nod. They knew very well when it started.  
  
_And through it all...  
_  
Unchecked, heart wrenching wails shook the small turtle shaped game shop, coming from an upstairs bedroom. Head buried in his hands, the petit boy heeded no call or soothing from his grandfather, who was desperately trying to figure out what was wrong. Though the man knew, oh yes, he knew. He had known since before the other's memories had been rediscovered, known what would happen to his small, petit, grandson the day it happened.  
  
The day _he_ finally left.  
  
The old man eventually gave up, a dejected sigh escaping his lips as he retreated from the room, his back turned upon the sickening sight of his grandson, who was slowly slipping into disrepair, his heart shattering, even as the old man retreated from the room.  
  
Not a word spoken reached his grandson, not anymore. No words of comfort could break through the ice that sealed itself around the boy.  
  
_Straight as the arrow flies   
I will run toward the finish line._  
  
'Why. Why did I do it?' The thoughts floating through the boy's brain were nothing but negative. 'Why? Why did I attack him that one final time? Why didn't I let him win?' Dejected tones, heart wrenching sobs, and heavy despair hung about him as he tried to get on with his life. He tried to face each day, but the prospect of_ him_ never being around anymore broke what little was left of his heart. The fraction he hadn't given away on a fool's fancy.  
  
"Why didn't I tell him?" The words escaped the boy's lips, the one's he'd thought day in day out, since he had left. "Why? When I had the chance?" Guilt racked every thought, every word. Every emotion was strung with it and unbearable sadness, and the cards that sat upon his desk mirrored and reflected his feelings, almost as if they were sneering, blaming, mocking. He couldn't take any more.  
  
His eyes closed. He couldn't take any more.  
  
_With all the strength I've found,   
My feet won't touch the ground._  
  
Sobbing himself to sleep, the boy slipped into the world of nightmares that had crept back as soon as he had left. Dark dreams and death, and a familiar face, with bright, ruby eyes, framed by sweeping kohl. The soothing words he once spoke gone, as the boy watched _him_ be happy in a world without Yugi Mouto, a world where _he_ was king again.  
  
He shot up, out of bed, and remembered the exotic vision that was his last sight of the man. The way his red cloak flew about his frame as he approached the door and passed though, onto the next world, eternal peace and happiness.  
  
"Why? Why did I let him?"  
  
"Why did he let me?"  
  
"Why?" He screamed, the volume and power behind it, wrenching at his soft throat, tearing it, making it so that the scream of sorrow became one of agonising pain.  
  
"WHY WON'T THE PAIN GO AWAY???"  
  
_I will scale the heights if I believe   
Your wings of faith will carry me._  
  
The school day trudged on, him not paying attention, not caring when he was given detention, not noticing the way his friends stuck up for him. He wasn't even sure he could call them his friends any more.  
  
The teacher watched the small boy, worry in her eyes. Gone, was the bright, cheerful boy she had known, replaced with a dark, depressed child that she had heard others speak about, but never to the level that she witnessed in the small one. Never had the others spoken that the boy would break down into tears, in the middle of a maths lesson. 'It was _his_ favourite subject. One _he_ understood, and loved.' Or had they mentioned he would run out of the class in the middle of history. 'No, not ancient civilisations! Anything but that!'  
  
Everywhere he turned, there were forceful reminders of what happened, and everywhere he saw places that sparked memories of a better time. The pier, where they had just sat and talked, about nothing and everything, when Yugi had felt the need to get out of the house. The other Game shop, where they had first played Dungeon Dice monsters, and they had scoured the help screen together, looking for winning combinations against a seemingly unbeatable opponent.  
  
_I will go the distance, just to reach,   
The arms I'm running to..._  
  
He sat upon the end of the pier, looking out over the sparkling depths of the ocean, remembering the time he had pleaded _him _to let him duel the blonde haired one. Names, words, places, all became an endless string in the boy's mind, his brain turning into slush, as the hours passed like minutes. The cold breeze wrapped around him, as he stared at the water, catching a glimpse of a silver fish in its sparkling depths.  
  
The tears began to trail once more, as he heard the shuffle of feet next to him.  
  
Someone he didn't recognise was approaching, their black hair, tied back in a spiky braid that hung at the base of his neck. His face was framed by a slightly curved black fringe, and Yugi noticed, that like himself, the man was short, but was slightly taller than him. A fresh pang of guilt ran through his stomach.  
  
_I'll go the extra mile,   
For you._  
  
The man sat down next to him, and Yugi took in the fact that his eyes were covered by black shades, almost as if they were hidden. Two silver ankh earrings hung down from each ear, the one behind slightly hidden and slightly larger tha the one in front. He was all too aware of his tear stained face, and his wet lashes, framing his large, if not childish, purple eyes.  
  
"Why are you crying, little one?" The man's voice was familiar, a husky undertone, that rang throughout the night air, playing along the waves, and rolling along the sandy shore under the pier in a way that made it soft and silky as if it were a gossamer spider thread. Yugi sighed, his eyes flicking back out to the rolling waves.  
  
"Does it matter?" his voice was choked, broken, and spoke of unshed tears which would be cried, if not for the fact that his tears had run out. His soul was crying out for its mate, but for some reason felt slightly soothed in the presence of this other.  
  
_I know it won't be easy   
To make you understand._  
  
A slight chuckle escaped the man's dainty lips, their set, ever so familiar. Yugi found himself wishing the man would remove his sunglasses, so that he could perchance catch a glimpse of his eyes. Yugi always memorised a person's eyes, for they were the tools that spoke to him. They would tell him exactly where he knew this strange person from. "To me it does."  
  
"Why should it?" Was the reply, immediately snapped back, almost as if the comforting tone was an attack at the boy. The other winced, and Yugi felt immediately apologetic, his feelings amplified by the sorrow he felt.  
  
"Just because." The banded eyes looked out over the waves, watching as a white peak crashed upon the shore. The voice, still plagued Yugi with its familiarity, and he grew frustrated, impatient, as he still couldn't place it.  
  
_I wanna take the glory.   
And put it in your hands._  
  
He spoke. Yugi spoke words that had been plaguing him for months, to this stranger that had feelings of deja-vu and familiarity riddling him. "I... I lost someone very close to me three months ago."  
  
The man smirked, and Yugi was hit with a flash of recognition at the way the expression sparked the feeling that he knew this person once again. "Really? Three months is an awful long time to mourn little one."  
  
Yugi scowled at the emotionless tone the other used. "I guess you've never lost anyone who was important to you then. I guess you don't realise that the pain doesn't feel like it'll ever go away." He pouted, the feelings of helplessness that had been plaguing him threatening to spill over once more.  
  
"Ahh, but little one, it will." The man replied to the boy's sulky tone. The voice was warm, however, comforting. "You have to allow time for the pain to go away. Wounds will not heal overnight. Blaming yourself won't help it heal. Feeling weak, for your mourning will only make it worse."  
  
_Cos you're the light that makes me shine.   
You're the Hero in my eyes._  
  
Yugi's eyes flamed with a passion that hadn't graced them in 3 months. "What would you know? _He_ was the only person who ever made me feel complete! And it was my fault _he_ died!" The anger in his voice seemed to startle the other, but only for a moment, until he regained control over himself.  
  
"It wasn't your fault. How would he feel if he knew that you blamed yourself for something inevitable?" The man laid a hand upon the boy's shoulder, and it was firm, and squeezed ever so gently, the warmth it held feeling comforting and accepting.  
  
Yugi blinked, and looked at it, and then at the man sitting next to him, his legs swung ever so casually over the edge. His dress style was very much like someone else Yugi knew, silver and black the dominant colours, but the outfit was made of light fitting cotton, instead of black leather, and there were less belts than the other wore. But the similarities were striking.  
  
Yugi sighed. "But it was my fault."  
  
_Win or loose,  
Do or die._  
  
The other let out a chuckle. "There is no convincing you, is there, little one. And I sense that that is not all." Yugi's eyes snapped up to the other, but he was once again looking out to the sea, and had removed his hand from the boy's shoulder, folding it in his lap.  
  
Yugi slowly shook his head. "You're right, that isn't all."  
  
_I am aiming high._  
  
"I never told him, that I loved him." The other blanched ever so slightly at this, and Yugi did not get time to question it though, for he slipped back into his persona easily.  
  
"I'm sure he knew. And felt the same way, little one." The other said, standing ever so slowly, and walking away.  
  
Yugi sighed, and realised something. He felt a little better. He stood up, and gently brushed down the dirty, grass stained jeans he was wearing. He looked at the other, who had stopped at the end of the pier. He shot a curious glance, and the other smiled, warmly, not the smirk that seemed so natural on his features before.  
  
_Straight as the arrow flies   
I will run towards the finish line_  
  
"How about I get you a milkshake?"  
  
Yugi nodded, ever so slowly, then moved down to the end of the pier, to stand next to the black clad man. They walked together, in an easy silence to the nearest café, where the man ordered a chocolate milkshake for Yugi, and a Mocha latté for himself.  
  
Yugi blinked, wasn't that _his_ fav...  
  
"Come on little one, let's go sit down." Yugi nodded, dragged out of his thoughts, feeling that he had been so close to grasping the other's identity, but having it wrenched out of his fingers at the last possible minute.  
  
_With all the strength I've found,   
My feet won't touch the ground  
_  
Sipping slowly at his milkshake, he stared intently at the other, noticing that he hadn't even removed his shades in the crowded café. Yugi puzzled over this for the briefest of moments, but then felt a movement at his elbow.  
  
Looking up, he saw that the man had bumped the sugar, ever so slightly, as he tried to get a spoonful out of it, to place in his drink. "Sorry." He said, ever so softly, making Yugi all too aware at the discomfort that seemed to have fallen across his companion.  
  
_I will scale the heights if I believe,   
The wings of faith will carry me._  
  
Yugi sighed, and started to talk to the other, falling into a strange sense of ease and comfort that he had only ever felt with one other. The two smiled, laughed, and Yugi felt the pain in his mid section slowly easing as he relaxed into a type of friendship with the black haired stranger.  
  
Not once though, during their whole time in the café, did the man remove his shades. He spoke about his friends, and the man had asked him questions, about the others, how they were going in their duelling, what their hobbies were. The way he asked, it was almost as if he was acquiring information from a gap of time he hadn't been around. This confirmed the fact that Yugi knew him from somewhere, but he still could not place where.  
  
_I will go the distance just to reach   
The arms I'm running to._  
  
The milkshake and latté finished, they stood, and true to his word, and against Yugi's insisting, the man paid for the drinks. They slipped out of the store, and down the back alleys, the man asking if Yugi wanted to go home yet, and Yugi nodding, saying it was getting later than he had expected.  
  
"I don't want my grandfather to get worried." The man smiled.  
  
"Judging by how cheerful you were today, compared to how I saw you at the pier, little one, your grandfather and your friends have probably been very worried about you. Talk to them, and smooth things over." There was warmth in his voice, as he stared out at the sun, setting spectacularly over the sky. Usually such a sight made Yugi upset, guilty, because it reminded him of _him_, but he felt content, walking towards the Game shop, his companion seemingly knowing where to go, even though the boy hadn't told him where he lived.  
  
_I will go the extra mile,  
For you._  
  
At the door, the man smiled, looking up at the turtle shaped shop with an air of fondness, and familiarity. "Goodbye, little one." He said, his gaze falling on Yugi, his voice a slight hint of sadness to it.  
  
In the end I wanna be able to say:  
  
"Won't you come inside and meet my grandpa?" Yugi asked, of the man, who felt so familiar.  
  
_I've got part of me   
For the world to see  
_  
He shook his head, and started down the road. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I'll see you round Yugi." The voice said, and he gently took off his shades as he wandered away.  
  
"Bye." Yugi smiled, turning towards the door.  
  
_And I would do it all again.   
I would go the extra mile....  
_  
It was a moment, before Yugi realised that he hadn't told the man his name, and it was another before he realised just why the man felt so familiar. He spun, and ran down the street in the direction that the man had come, but he was gone.  
  
Yugi sighed, a happy smile on his face, as the man's words echoed through his head, from when he was sitting, dejectedly on the pier. "And I'm sure he feels the same way about you."  
  
He wasn't sure why he hid himself, but Yugi felt happier than he had felt in 3 months, his true personality breaking through the cloud of depression.  
  
_Knowing it would be worth while,   
I would go the extra mile..._  
  
Slowly, a band was removed from the man's braided hair. It sprung out of its bonds, into black spikes that flew up at impossible angles from his head, his fringe finally breaking free from the severe hair gel and hair spray treatment he had given it. The lightning shaped spikes that fell about his face were hidden by the fact that they were black, instead of gold, but the exotic man was very familiar.  
  
_For you.  
_  
The man slowly threw his sunglasses to the ground, his eyes finally coming to view when there was no one around. Narrowed red eyes, framed by sweeping lashes shone as he stood in front of the door, a light shining from his fingers, and slowly growing to consume his whole body.  
  
With a telltale, trademark smirk, his body burst into tiny balls of light, leaving only the sunglasses left where he had stood.  
  
Far away, a breeze whispered through the open game shop window, where a still subdued, but reasonably happier Yugi sat.  
  
He looked up for a brief minute, as he thought he heard a voice whisper to him, "Take care Yugi, I love you."

* * *

Haku: DONENESS!!  
  
Y. Haku: Yeah, but you left out a chorus.  
  
Haku: I had too, the plot progressed too fast to have that chorus in, and that's saying something, because I tried to drag it out as much as possible. Also, who guessed who the Mysterious stranger was? (As if I didn't make it obvious...) And yeah, in case anyone was wondering, his hair was based on Edo-kun's hair...

Y. Haku: I thought you said you weren't going to be influenced by FMA?

Haku: -.- ...except I made him dye it completely black.  
  
Y. Haku: -.- Read and review people.


End file.
